From assault survivor to marathon glory for new champ Oddy

Seaford Russell Jr. | Cayman Compass | 3 December 2023

It was a dream come true for Oddy Grullon who finished Sunday morning as the first female for the 2023 Walkers Cayman Islands Marathon.

Grullon, who was visibly emotional after crossing the finish line to a roaring crowd in Hog Sty Bay, was one of 921 runners in this year’s event. It was the first time she had won the grueling 26.2 mile mega event since she began participating back in 2010.

The moment was especially cathartic for Grullon, who had to scrap for her life when she was attacked by a stalker during a training run in 2020.

“I can’t believe it,” she told the Compass. “I’ve been trying to win the marathon for so many years and I normally come second, third… never first.

“After what happened to me [almost] two years ago, I never thought I would be running this fast again but here I am,” Grullon added, referring to when she was attacked by a man while on a early morning jog in South Sound on 3 Jan., 2022.

Despite the humidity and several runners looking to take bragging rights, Grullon said she just wanted to stay focused on the task at hand.

“I wasn’t putting any attention on who was beside me or who was ahead, I was just running my own race,” she said.

Grullon finished with a time of 3:44:57 to cross the line in first.

Taking the male and overall marathon 2023 title was Andrew Morrison, who stopped the clock at three hours, 53 seconds.

For the half-marathon, Jalene Cruz claimed first female, clocking 1:30:52. A few minutes ahead was Esmond Brown, who took the male title and overall win for the half-marathon at 1:22:45.

Similar to Grullon, it was the first time Brown had won the event, despite coming very close in the seven years he has participated, including being the runner-up at last year’s event.

“I flew in Friday night to be back for this,” Brown told the Compass. “In the UK, I picked up a bit of a cold but I was like ‘this is a great event, just start and see how it goes’, and this year I got lucky.”

Brown and many others said that the event was a joy to be a part of, noting that the supporters along the road, the water stops and the overall course made the run that much better.

“It is an absolute joy to run in it,” Brown added.

“It is well organised. Obviously, a lot of people are running for charity, but its a great community event and you want to be a part of this. If you are into testing yourself, this is the one you want to be a part of.”

The event raised funds for the Cayman Islands Cadet Corps, the Cayman Islands Cancer Society and other non-profit organisations like Jasmine, Cayman Islands Crisis Centre, Central Caribbean Marine Institute, Alex Panton Foundation, YMCA and Cayman Islands Red Cross.